My kids watched “Happy Feet” this weekend. One of the boys’ favorite scenes went something like this:

 

A little penguin named Mumbles catches a fish and offers it to another penguin named Gloria. “No Mumbles. You caught it,” she says.  “No, take the fish, I want you to have it,” Mumbles says. “No Mumbles, really. You eat it,” she says. Mumbles tries again, “I want you to have it.” Just then hungry birds swoop down trying to steal the fish. 

 

Mumbles hangs on for dear life only to be lifted into the air. Mumbles is twisted him and twirled but refuses to let go of the fish. The birds finally give up and let go of the fish and Mumbles who drops onto the ice below.

 

Somehow Gloria finds Mumbles. “Are you okay?” she says. Mumbles mumbles something like, “Ache da ooid ish.”  “What did you say?” Gloria asks. Barely able to get out the words, and with fish still in his mouth, Mumbles says, “Take…the stupid…fish.” “Oh,” Gloria says. She takes the fish and eats it.

 

My boys thought the scene was hilarious.

 

Cut to a Saturday afternoon. A Birthday party with our family

 

Q and his cousin had been playing for awhile. They come running to me and the cousin told me, “Q said the “S” word three times.” 

 

Since we don’t use that phrase the S word, Q had to ask me, “Papi, what’s the “S” word?”

 

I guess it could have been easy enough to say, “The S word is stupid. Don’t say it Q.” But I wasn’t sure if I should repeat the word since the cousin was having such a strong reaction to it. I decide the best way to approach the situation would be to complicate it.

 

“Son,” I said, “you remember in Happy Feet when Mumbles caught the fish and then the birds were trying to take it and then he told the girl penguin, “Take the stu… fish?” (Purposely omitting the word stupid)

 

“Oh yea, Papi,” he said.

 

That is the ‘S’ word,” I said.

 

Doing his best impression of a beat-up penguin Q said, “That was funny Papi, when he said, Take… the stupid… fish.”

 

“Ooo, he said it again,” his cousin screamed.

 

“Uh…Q…” I start but my son was already running off yelling repeatedly, “Take the stupid fish, take the stupid fish,” and laughing louder each time. His cousin was close behind screaming, “He said it again…he said it again.”

 

As the scene came to a close I took a moment to congratulate myself on what I saw as yet another parenting job well done.

 

--DiggyDaddy